Wow!

My mom (Judy,) came out to visit, she told me that she lost 16 lbs on weight watchers (which is GREAT!), she kept talking about how she was trying to eat healthy.. So I decided to jump the gun and ask her if she wanted to participate in my experiment (rather than springing it on her the day before). Surprisingly she said "YES". Now I feel that there is a lot of pressure on me to really make this work! I can't get my expectations too high, but any results will be fabulous.
I told her that I was curious to see how mental health could be affected by diet. She explained that when she was in high school she ran a lot, but was still depressed. I know back then she wasn't eating the best diet (borderline starving herself) so perhaps if she eats the right diet and exercises we will see different results. I can't wait to find out!

Getting Started

The last 3 yrs of my life I have been eating a pescartarian diet for. My reasoning for changing my diet was more for the benefit of weight loss (I ate A LOT of fast food) and I read some pro-vegetarian literature for a class while attending the University of Utah. I reached the conclusion that I was eating WAY too much meat, and why? I didn't even really care for it! It was just convenient and I wasn't much of a cook (I wasn't much of an eater back then either! Somewhat picky about food still). The first month was the absolute hardest. Everyday I remember thinking "What am I suppose to eat??". I honestly don't know how I survived (I still wasn't cooking!) but I managed to lose 10 lbs. Which was great, but the greatest part was the continuance of my pescartarian diet! It changed my life! I know that sounds cliche, but suddenly I wasn't eating at McDonalds, and Burger King everyday. I was forced to "find" foods I could eat. Now I have numerous cook books that cater the vegetarian and vegan diet. I love to bake and I have an extensive collection of vegan recipes that are delicious (who knew it was possible to live with out butter?). My life has become an eating adventure, I have experienced SO many new foods that I wouldn't have touched 3 years ago. I have always been a foodie, but now I feel that I am a somewhat "healthy" foodie. Conscious of my health for the first time ever in my life.
Whew... There's the little background of my story, but the real star here is Judy (she doesn't know it yet!). I love my mom, and I want her to be happy. She has struggled with her weight for as long as I can remember. She says that she's "addicted" to food (who isn't!) and she can't seem to control what she eats or how much she eats. I know she tries to lose weight constantly. She has done Weight Watchers, Slim Fast, Alli pills, etc. She has been successful before. When I was in Junior high she started swimming. She was so diligent, going almost everyday, and she lost a lot of weight. When my parents divorced 12 years ago she slimmed down even more. She started borrowing my shirts!! She was so tiny, but after her second marriage and second divorce, she just couldn't keep the weight off. It was really hard to watch her pack up all her "skinny" clothes and put them under the staircase (where they still are today). This isn't just about weight loss, my mother also suffers from depression (hopefully she won't kill me for divulging this!), my goal, and hope is that she can change her whole life by eating better and exercising (the mind and body!) in 28 days.
Wow! That seems like a lot to accomplish huh! Almost impossible, but diet is such an intricate part of our overall health that making substantial changes will effect not only our physical health but our mental health as well. 
This experiment won't begin until July 5tht, I am so nervous and excited!